On the First Page
by KepnerAvery
Summary: Before they were liars, they were just innocent kids trying to make friends in the confusing world around them. They'd never realize how important they would become to each other some day. Prequel collection documenting the girls' first meetings. Spanna, Sparia, Spemily, Haria, Hannily, Emaria friendships
1. Spanna

**A/N: Hi! So I've written a bunch of Grey's Anatomy fic on here, but this is my first venture into PLL. I was struck at one point by the fact that we never actually learn how the girls met each other, so I decided to give my take on it. Each chapter will document the meeting of two of the girls.**

 **First up, Spanna.**

* * *

 _Friday, June 15th, 2001._

All around her, Spencer could feel the jovial atmosphere of the carnival.

There were booths covered in stuffed animals to be won, rides with flashing lights eliciting screams and laughter from the children who rode them, food stands that had her mouth watering at the smell of popcorn-

And Melissa was dragging her past it all. Past the games, the rides, the food, straight toward a large tented area along the fringe of the fair ground.

"I don't want to see the clown show!"

Spencer's protests fell on deaf ears as Melissa tightened her grip on her wrist and kept going. They were past almost everything now, and she wanted nothing more than to pull out of Melissa's wrist and run off on her own.

This was the first year that Spencer would be old enough to ride all of the rides. She'd had her mother measure her everyday for a week just to make absolutely sure she was right. This year she wouldn't have to be stuck on the ferris wheel- she could ride even the ride that spun in circles so fast you stuck to the wall even when the floor dropped out from beneath you. It was all she had thought about since the flyers for the carnival had gone up weeks before.

But her mother was working late, and her father was on a business trip, which meant-

"Mom told you to do what I say," Melissa reminded Spencer as they entered the tent full of young children and parents. On a makeshift stage stood a clown performing some sort of magic trick with scarves he was pulling out of his sleeves. Despite her audible whining, Melissa pushed Spencer down to sit on a bench toward the back of the audience. As if it weren't bad enough that she had to stay and watch the clown, she could barely even see him.

"Why can't we go on the rides?" Spencer asked, turning her head to look at Melissa with such anger her long, dark ponytail swung around and hit her in the face.

"Because I told my friends I would meet them here, and I don't need you tagging along. Just sit and watch the show until I come back."

Melissa put her hands on Spencer's shoulders, twisting her so she faced the stage. But the moment she let go, Spencer turned back to her sister and grabbed her hand in both of her own.

"Please don't leave me," Spencer begged. She tried to hold back the hot tears welling up in her eyes. She was angry that Melissa was leaving her, sure, but it was also getting dark out. What if Melissa forgot about her? What if she left Spencer in the tent and the clown took her instead and she never got to come home?

"Look," Melissa sighed, crouching down to Spencer's level, "I'll come back and we can ride the ferris wheel-"

"I want to ride the spinny ride that-"

"Fine, whatever, we can ride that. When I come back. So just stay here and watch the show and wait for me, okay?"

It was hard to believe Melissa when she was about to abandon her, but she tucked her dark bangs out of her face, her dark eyes meeting Spencer's, and Spencer finally nodded. But as soon as Melissa stood up to leave, she panicked again, grabbing a handful of her sister's white polo shirt to stop her from walking away.

"Wait, I'm hungry!"

Melissa wouldn't just leave her hungry, would she?

She rolled her eyes,

"I'll buy you a hot dog when I get back."

"I don't like-"

"Whatever! I'll buy you something you like, just leave me alone and stay here."

And just like that, Melissa was gone. She slipped out the back of the tent unnoticed by any of the adults around them, and Spencer was officially, completely alone.

For a moment she considered crying. Just bursting into the loud screaming sobs she could feel in her stomach to get the attention of someone who could help her. But then what if they kidnapped her instead? She was by herself now, anyone could just come up and steal her away. So instead, Spencer decided to draw as little attention to herself as possible. She turned back to the stage, scooting over a little on the bench so she could at least kind of see the now juggling clown.

Everything would be fine. Melissa would come back, and they would ride the spinny ride, and everything would be fine.

"Your baby sitter isn't very good."

Spencer refused to turn her head at the sound of the voice just down the bench from her, but out of the corner of her eye she could see that the girl looked about her age with long, blonde hair.

When Spencer didn't say anything, the girl scooted closer, leaning to try and get in Spencer's line of vision.

"Are your parents paying her?"

Spencer glanced around, nervous that someone would overhear the little girl next to her, but they all seemed absorbed in their own families and in the show in front of them.

"They should find you a new babysitter," the blonde girl continued, unfazed by Spencer's silence, "She shouldn't just leave-"

"She didn't leave!"

Now Spencer turned to the girl, finally looking her in her big blue eyes as she continued in an angry whisper,

"She's my sister, and she's coming back."

The little blonde girl laughed, and Spencer could feel her face getting hot as she whipped her head back to the stage, her ponytail nearly hitting her new companion in the face. Her fingers wrapped around of the edge of the bench, squeezing tight as she told herself over and over in her head that Melissa was coming back for her, and they would ride the rides, and-

"It's okay, my mom ditched me too."

 _Her mom left her?_

Melissa leaving her was one thing, but Spencer couldn't imagine her mother leaving her alone like this. Her mother didn't even like her playing in the yard on her own where she couldn't see her.

"Well she's over there," the little girl said, sensing Spencer's disbelief, "But she won't get off her phone. It's been a really long time."

Spencer turned to look where the blonde girl had gestured, and sure enough there was a woman about her mother's age standing by the edge of the tent talking on a phone. So she hadn't left, she was still there… but her back was completely turned on them. In the few moments Spencer observed her, she never once glanced back to make sure her daughter was still there.

"We should go to the rides by ourselves."

That shocked Spencer out of her daze, her dark eyes widening as she looked at the blonde girl in disbelief.

"We can't leave!"

"Why not? Your sister left you here and my mom doesn't care."

"My sister is coming back!"

"Yeah when it's time to go home."

Spencer ignored the hot tears that sprung into her eyes. It was true, and she knew it, that Melissa would turn up ten minutes before their mom came to pick them up and buy her something to eat just so she wouldn't complain about being hungry and make their mother suspicious.

If she stayed and waited for Melissa, she wouldn't get to do anything except sit and watch the stupid clown all night.

"I don't even know you," Spencer said finally. But the little blonde girl just stuck out her hand and gave a big toothless smile- her two front teeth were missing.

"I'm Hanna."

After a moment's hesitation, Spencer shook Hanna's outstretched hand,

"I'm Spencer."

Hanna gave a nod, her face taking on a devious look as her smile dropped into a smirk,

"Now you know me, and I know you, so let's go."

"But my sister-"

"We'll beat her back."

"I don't even have any tickets for the rides."

That stopped Hanna in her tracks, and Spencer gave a small sigh of relief. She hadn't realized it until now, but her heart felt like it was about to beat out of her chest. It would be wrong to leave, she would get in so much trouble. Not just with Melissa, but with her parents, maybe even with the police because you weren't allowed to run away. Spencer knew that, she knew that you weren't allowed to run off on your own no matter what.

She also knew that you weren't allowed to steal, but that didn't stop Hanna from sneakily pulling a row of tickets out of the back pocket of the woman in front of them. Before Spencer could protest, Hanna grabbed her hand and pulled her off the bench, tugging her out the back of the tent.

"We're going to get in trouble!" Spencer cried as Hanna kept going toward the midway, "You can't do that!"

Hanna sighed, stopping in her tracks and putting her hands on her hips. Despite the fact that she was dressed in a bright pink blouse and a little white skort, she still managed to look intimidating- at least to Spencer.

"If you want to go back and watch that baby show then go," Hanna said, "but I think you want to ride the rides."

"I do want to ride the rides! But I don't want to get in trouble."

"Look," Hanna grabbed one of Spencer's hands in her own, lacing their fingers together, "We're not gonna get in trouble. I'll get us back in time okay?"

Just beyond where they stood the midway was alight with the flashing lights that Spencer had been dreaming of for weeks. She could hear the laughs and screams of other kids on the rides again, and she so desperately wanted to join them.

And she wasn't alone now. She had Hanna with her, and maybe she didn't know Hanna, but she seemed to know what she was doing. After all, she had managed to steal those tickets without _anyone_ seeing her. If she could do that, she could probably get them back to the tent before anyone even noticed they were gone.

"Okay."

Hanna's face lit up as bright as the ferris wheel, and she squeezed Spencer's hand as they kept going toward the midway.

"Let's start with the spinny ride," she said, "I'm _finally_ tall enough to ride it."

* * *

The sky got darker and darker, but underneath the glow of the booths around them Spencer and Hanna could hardly tell.

How much time had passed?

Spencer had lost track somewhere after their third ride on the spinny thing. Every time they ran out of tickets Hanna would sneak more, and she even managed to charm a man at one of the food booths into giving them free cotton candy.

Clearly it wasn't her first time pulling a stunt like this.

But Spencer was surprised at how easy it was. She had never done anything like this- never run off on her own, never taken anything that wasn't hers or lied like she had when the man at the funhouse had asked where their parents were and Spencer pointed to a random woman sitting on a bench across the way.

Holding Hanna's hand, their sticky fingers wrapped around each other's, she forgot why she had even been afraid in the first place.

"Can we go back to the spinny ride?" Hanna asked as they made their way through the crowd. It was getting thinner and thinner, but the girls didn't notice.

"I'm gonna get sick if we ride it again."

"What about the bumper cars?"

Spencer took a moment to think about that, but just as she was about to answer she felt a strong hand on her shoulder.

Her blood turned to ice.

At first Hanna didn't notice that anything was wrong, but when she tried to keep walking and Spencer didn't come with her she turned around, and her blue eyes turned to saucers.

If Hanna was afraid, Spencer knew, they were in trouble.

 _So much trouble._

Before she could react, or even think to react, there was a policeman squatting down in front of them.

But he didn't look angry.

Actually, he even gave them a reassuring smile as he began to speak,

"Hi girls," he said, "Are your names Spencer and Hanna?"

What were they supposed to say? No?

Spencer looked down, staring at her white tennis shoes and willing herself not to cry. She shouldn't have been so stupid. She should have never gone with Hanna. She should have stayed in that tent and watched that clown until her brain melted and Melissa came to get her.

"We got lost," Hanna said. Spencer couldn't bring herself to look at her, but she knew that Hanna must be using the same face she used to get the cotton candy.

"That's okay," the policeman said, "I'm going to bring you back to your parents now, alright? They're very worried about you."

But now Spencer couldn't stop her tears as her heart dropped into her stomach. If her mom was here she was really in big trouble. She would never be allowed to go anywhere again until she was in college, at least. Maybe she wouldn't even be allowed to go to college, maybe she would just have to live at home and stay in high school forever.

"Hey sweetheart," the policeman said, "You must have been really scared, huh?"

Spencer looked up now, and while the policeman's attention was focused on her she could see that Hanna was nodding furiously beside him, trying to tell Spencer to just _say yes_.

"Yeah," Spencer sniffled through her tears. It was only half a lie, because she really was scared.

Scared of what her mother was going to do when she got to her.

"Well let's go find your mommy."

The policeman scooped Spencer up and balanced her in one arm, taking Hanna by the hand with the other.

Part of Spencer, this new part that she had never felt before, wanted to kick and scream and bite the policeman's shoulder so he would put her down. She wanted to get away from him- to run away and not come back. She wished that she could see Hanna's face now, because she wanted to know how she was feeling. Was she scared of getting in trouble too? She had acted so tough all night, but she didn't say a word that Spencer could hear as the policeman brought them to a roped off area toward the front of the carnival that had been turned into a makeshift security headquarters.

Through her tears Spencer could see a watery outline of her mother, and she squeezed her eyes shut. She didn't want to see the angry look on her face. She never meant for this to happen, she meant to get back on time, or to never even leave in the first place, or-

" _Oh Spencer_ , sweetheart you're safe!"

Her mother took her from the policeman's arms, and Spencer wrapped her arms around her neck, burying her face in her shoulder.

"I'm sorry Mommy," she cried.

Next to her she could hear Hanna's mother scolding her,

 _What were you thinking?! You could have been kidnapped Hanna, someone could have taken you!_

But Spencer's mother just hugged her to her body, resting her head against Spencer's hair.

"Mom she ran away!"

The sound of Melissa's voice stopped Spencer's breath. She hadn't even noticed her there, but _of course_. _Of course_ she was there. Melissa would lie about the details, probably claim that they had been at the show together when Spencer ran away- but she wasn't lying about the running away. Once their mother got over her initial relief that she was safe, what Melissa was saying would sink in. And once what Melissa was saying sunk in, well….

"That's not true!"

The sound of Hanna's voice caught Spencer off guard, and she lifted her head just in time to see Hanna's mother try to drag her away,

"Hanna," her mother said through gritted teeth, "Hold your tongue, we're leaving."

"Mommy no, she's lying!"

Hanna dug her heels into the ground, not appearing to notice how her mother's grip on her arm was turning her skin white. She pointed an accusatory finger at Melissa as she continued,

"She left Spencer at the show all by herself! We went to look for her because she was scared!"

Melissa's face grew to a deep crimson as suddenly her mother's eyes were on her.

"Melissa?"

"I only left her for a minute! I went to the bathroom and when I came back she was gone, she ran away! I didn't do anything wrong."

To the side, Hanna's mother was telling her that it was sweet how she wanted to help, but next time she needed to tell an adult and not run off on her own. But Hanna wasn't listening, because before Spencer's mother could speak she glared at Melissa and shouted back,

"You left her all night!"

"I'm so sorry," Hanna's mother said quickly, lifting Hanna into her arms because it was clear her daughter had no intention of walking away on her own.

Spencer's mother shook away her apology,

"Don't be," she said, "I'm sorry your daughter got involved."

"Well I'm just glad everything turned out okay," Hanna's mom said through a shaky sigh. She adjusted Hanna in her arms,struggling to hold her probably too big to be carried daughter, "Say goodnight Hanna."

Hanna looked over and caught Spencer's eye, and even though they barely knew each other Spencer understood her perfectly.

"Goodnight," Hanna said, but she really meant _good luck_.

"Bye," Spencer sniffled back. There were so many other things she wanted to say to this girl who had just led her through the most fun and scary night of her life, but there was no time. In a flash of blonde hair Hanna was gone, carried off in her mother's arms toward the parking lot.

"Mom it's not true, I came right back for her!"

Melissa was still pleading with their mother, and now Spencer found that her heart was beating too fast again as she saw the rage in her sister's eyes. There was no way she was getting out of this. So what if Melissa had left her? Spencer had still run away.

"Spencer," her mother's voice was low and soothing as she looked down at her younger daughter and pushed her dark bangs out of her eyes, "Did your sister leave you alone all night?"

This was it, the moment of truth. In her head Spencer could see Hanna standing next to the policeman egging her on, telling her to just say yes.

Spencer nodded.

"Mom!"

"Melissa, go to the car."

"But she-"

" _Now."_

With a cry of frustration, Melissa stormed away in the same direction that Hanna and her mother had gone. Meanwhile in her mother's arms Spencer felt frozen. It hadn't really been a lie, had it? Melissa really had left Spencer all night. Or at least she would have if Spencer hadn't left the tent. But Melissa didn't know what she had done, so as far as she knew she really had left Spencer there all night, so was it really a lie?

"I'm so sorry Spence," her mother sighed, placing a kiss to Spencer's forehead before cradling her head to her chest, "I know you were so excited."

"It's okay Mommy."

Spencer closed her eyes, the rocking motion as her mother began to walk to the car lulling her into sleepiness.

"No it's not okay, she shouldn't have left you there. You must be so hungry, I'll make you something to eat when we get home, okay?"

"Okay Mommy."

But Spencer knew she would never make it home awake. Her mind was already starting to get fuzzy, but she kept wondering in the back of her mind about what would happen to Hanna. Would she ever see her again to say thank you?

Moments later, when her breathing slowed not just back to normal, but into the deep rhythm of sleep, those thoughts turned to dreams. Dreams of spinny rides and cotton candy and a little blonde girl with a toothless smile.

* * *

 **A/N: If you've gotten this far, thanks for reading! Drop me a review to let me know how you liked it, and I'll try to have the next chapter up soon! Feel free to let me know which pairing you want to see next, and I'll see what I can do ;)**


	2. Spemily

**A/N: I know it's been forever since I posted the first chapter in this series, but they're all stand alone anyway so here's another!**

* * *

 _Saturday, August 7th, 1999_

Her father was the one who taught her how to swim.

They had spent so many long summer days together in her grandparents' pool, and Emily could hardly remember what it was like to not know how to swim. It came as naturally to her as walking, talking, _breathing._

No matter what else was happening in their lives, when Emily swam with her father the rest of the world just melted away. She was happy.

Except now her father wasn't here.

Emily treaded water in the huge, unfamiliar pool, and it didn't feel natural. It took too much effort, like her body didn't quite know how to move in the water the way it used to. Like it didn't know what to do without her father nearby to swim to.

In this strange pool there was no one to swim to.

They weren't members of this club, but one of Emily's mother's friends had invited them along for the day. It would be good, she said, to take their minds off of things. She and Emily's mother could relax and get some sun, and Emily could swim.

She could swim in this pool, surrounded by strangers, without a friendly face in sight.

The only kids her age seemed to be stuck in the shallow end, or hanging off of their parents with inflatable cuffs around their arms to keep them afloat. There was no one to play or race with.

Overhead the sun beat down from a cloudless sky, and beads of sweat began to form on Emily's forehead. She took a deep breath, then dunked beneath the surface, letting the coolness of the water envelope her.

At least she had this- her quiet space. For a moment she didn't even open her eyes, so content just to be suspended in time.

When she did, she found a pair of dark eyes peering back at her.

Emily lurched back in surprise, the owner of the eyes doing the same and scattering her long curls around her face. Then she gave a few solid kicks, propelling herself to the surface of the water.

For a moment Emily observed her from where she was- taking in the girl's skinny frame and long, gangly limbs. She was young- her face had looked young too- maybe even close to Emily's age. The way her legs moved when she treaded water, sort of clumsily, made it clear that she was still growing into those gangly limbs.

When her chest began to ache from lack of air, Emily gave a few kicks of her own legs and the world exploded around her. She took a deep breath, opened her eyes, and came face to face with the dark eyed girl again.

Emily wanted to say something, to ask the girl her name, but there was no time. The girl gave a mischievous smile before diving back under the water, her feet kicking up a splash that sent water droplets across the plastic of Emily's goggles.

Without a moment's thought, Emily took a deep breath and followed.

Her new companion hadn't gone far. She hovered not far beneath the surface, her arms moving to keep her suspended there. It was only when she caught Emily's gaze that she reached out and pushed her on the shoulder, taking Emily by surprise.

Before she could shove back, her immediate reaction to the gesture, the girl was swimming away from her, dodging around the adults nearby.

 _Fine then,_ Emily thought, _Who needs a snotty country club friend anyway?_

But then the girl hesitated, looking over her shoulder in confusion. She surfaced quickly for air, and Emily followed suit.

"You're it!"

The dark haired girl's head bobbed above the surface, waiting for Emily to understand her command.

It took Emily a moment, her mind distracted trying to catch her breath, and then trying to separate her new companion's voice from the cacophony of others.

Then her face lit up, _tag!_

The other little girl seemed satisfied that Emily's reaction was acceptance of her invitation to play. She dipped back under the water so fast Emily barely had time to react.

Still, she thought as she followed suit, this would be easy. No one had ever beaten her in a swimming race. She was a fish- her dad always called her his little minnow.

And this other girl was an easy target in her bright pink swimsuit among the crowds of adults in boring colors.

This girl was a serious contender though, tucking her feet up and changing direction any time Emily got close. Emily had to surface for air twice before she finally caught the girl by her foot.

The look of shock on her new friend's face just made Emily swim faster away from her. She barely lifted her head from the water to take a breath when she needed to, determined to be uncatchable.

For the first time in a long time, Emily felt like she was back in her element. Swimming was easy again, especially when she looked over her shoulder and saw the dark haired girl trailing her with a smile that must have matched her own. This was what she needed. Having someone to swim with again just felt right. Maybe she didn't know this little girl, and maybe they hadn't really talked, but it felt like they had some kind of connection. Dodging around the adults together, the only two their size, they were little fish in a big pond. They were isolated, seemingly invisible to everyone around them, but they had found each other. Emily and this dark haired, gangly limbed, bright eyed little girl.

She was getting close now, but Emily didn't care. When she dodged one way around an adult and her companion dodged the other, bringing them face to face, Emily scrunched her face up, blowing bubbles out her nose like a dragon and making the other little girl laugh. In her haste to come up for air afterwards, she forgot to tag Emily "it".

Emily kicked her feet hard, surfacing next to the dark haired girl with a triumphant grin.

"You're still-"

"Spencer!"

The rest of Emily's assertion was drowned out by a man standing next to the pool, holding a pink towel that matched her new friend's swimsuit.

The little girl's face lit up, and she didn't even give Emily a parting glance before swimming to the edge of the pool and reaching her arms up.

"Daddy!" The girl squealed, giggling with delight as her father lifted her from the pool and into his arms. He tried to get the towel around her, but she wrapped her arms around his neck and held on tight. He sighed, though he didn't look particularly upset.

"I missed you Spence," Emily barely heard him say as he pressed a kiss to his daughter's forehead.

Emily's limbs began to feel heavy. She suddenly became very aware again of the actions it took to keep treading water. She wanted to look away from the reunion occurring in front of her, but it felt like the only movement she could make was to keep herself afloat.

She watched as the other girl- Spencer, apparently - finally pulled away to look her father in the face.

"Don't leave again Daddy," she ordered, earning a chuckle from her father.

"I'll try little minnow, I know a week's a long time."

Emily turned away. She found it in herself to turn her back before the tears welling up in her eyes could fall.

 _A week?_

She was nearly blowing bubbles with every breath now, it was hard to keep her head above the water. Her stomach cramped with trying not to cry, and her eyes scanned for the nearest ladder out of the pool.

 _There,_ it was just past the diving board, not too far away. Emily began to swim towards it, but a single word stopped her in her tracks.

"Bye!"

She took a deep breath and glanced over her shoulder just long enough to see Spencer wave a quick goodbye from her father's arms.

Emily's heart ached- Spencer looked like she didn't have a care in the world. Her father blew raspberries on her cheek and she squealed with delight, and she probably _didn't_ have a care in the world.

She had her dad back.

Suddenly Emily didn't want to get out of the pool anymore. She ducked her head beneath the surface, sinking into the cool embrace of the water.

Maybe if she closed her eyes, held her breath, stayed down long enough- she wouldn't have a care in the world either. Maybe she would resurface and her father would be there calling her name and scooping her out of the water too.

At the very least, maybe she would open her eyes and find her dark haired friend back again, ready for another round of tag.

* * *

 **A/N: Reviews always appreciated! I have a few more of the chapters planned out, I just need some motivation to get them written and posted.**


	3. Hannily

_Tuesday, September 26th, 2000._

Emily was mortified.

She brushed her teeth twice a day, every day. She tried not to eat too many sugary sweets, and she _never_ chewed gum. Most days she even remembered to floss.

So the fact that she had a cavity, her very first cavity, was horrifying. She _wasn't_ the kind of girl who got cavities.

"Come on Emily, you're being silly," her mother said, tugging the six year old along by the hand. Emily hesitated by the door to the dentist's office- what if someone she knew was in there? Despite Emily's pleading with her to schedule the appointment during the school day, her mother had scheduled it for the late afternoon instead. Now it was much more likely she would encounter one of her school friends there, but left without a choice she followed her mother inside anyway.

At the check in desk Emily clung to her mother's skirt, peeking around her to see into the waiting room. To her relief the only people there were a few adults and one little blonde girl about her age, but whom she didn't know, at the Lego table. At least no one she knew would be there to witness her embarrassment.

Emily was so consumed by looking into the waiting room that she didn't notice her mother nudging her along. It was only when she crouched down in front of her daughter that Emily paid any attention to her.

"Em, you're going to be fine. Most people get cavities sometimes. The dentist will fix it in no time, let's go."

The girl fidgeted, wanting to argue. She wasn't most people, most people probably didn't take good care of their teeth like she did. But, knowing that nothing she said would matter at this point, she just sighed and followed her mother into the waiting room.

"Here you go," her mother said, steering her towards the Lego table, "why don't you build something while we wait?"

Emily perched hesitantly on one of the child-sized chairs, reaching for a brick to fidget with. Satisfied, her mother turned her attention to the other little girl at the table,

"Is it okay if Emily come builds with you?"

The blonde girl looked up, and Emily was horrified to see blood around her lips and chin. Spots of it had dripped down onto her purple t-shirt, almost looking like a splatter of fruit punch. There was even some in her _hair_ Emily noticed, eyes drawn to the red tint in the braid that twisted around from the back of her head, hanging over one shoulder.

In response to the question, the blonde girl nodded and gave a big, bloody smile. Her two front teeth were jammed up into her gums, sticking out at odd angles. That, it was clear now, was where the blood was coming from.

"Oh my," Emily's mother said. She seemed, as Emily was, at a loss for words.

"Hanna, don't scare your little friend!"

A woman who must have been the blonde girl's mother leapt up from her seat, setting down the magazine she had been reading and pulling a packet of wet wipes out of her purse. The girl scowled at her, she must have enjoyed seeing the shock on Emily and her mother's faces.

"I'm so sorry," the girl's mother said as she scrubbed the blood off of her daughter's face, "Hanna had a little accident today."

A "little accident" was probably an understatement, but Emily didn't catch what had happened as the two mothers moved to the chairs against the wall to chat.

This left her alone with the blonde girl, Hanna, who had returned to building some sort of Lego house without a care. Emily watched her, still shocked by what she had seen of her teeth. Didn't it hurt? Wasn't she afraid of what the dentist was going to do?

As much as she hated to admit it Emily was nervous about what the dentist was going to do for her cavity, but she was sure it would be incomparable to whatever he would do to Hanna.

Or, Emily tugged nervously at her own braid, maybe he would just pull both of their teeth out. Wasn't that what dentists did when you got a cavity or broke your teeth?

There was no doubt in her mind that Hanna's teeth would have to come out, but then why was she so calm?

"What happened to you?" Emily asked finally, her curiosity getting the best of her.

Hanna looked up from her building, seeming pleased to have someone to talk to. It was hard to understand her when she spoke, but Emily managed to make out what she meant.

"I climbed on top of the monkey bars. I made it almost the whole way across but I slipped and hit my tooths."

Emily cringed, unable to imagine that kind of pain. Hanna's mom must have given her some of the special pills like Emily's mom gave her when she hurt her arm. Those things made it feel like nothing even happened.

"Why are you here?" Hanna asked, blood dribbling down her chin again.

Now Emily frowned, lowering her gaze to the Lego table. She stacked a couple of blocks together, beginning to build a wall.

"I have a cavity," she admitted, "but I never had one before."

"They isn't too bad," Hanna said with a shrug, "I had a couple."

She opened her mouth to point out a couple of molars in the back of her mouth that looked different from the other teeth, but Emily was distracted again by the bloody mess around her front teeth.

"Hanna, stop opening your mouth!"

Her mother swooped in again with another wet wipe, pinching Hanna by the chin as she scrubbed at the blood on her face. Hanna grimaced, but didn't protest.

Once her mother had returned to her seat, Hanna turned back to Emily and dropped her voice to a whisper.

"I bet this is going to get me _three_ prizes."

Prizes?

"What do you mean?"

Emily glanced over at her mother, making sure she was still distracted talking to Hanna's mother. She didn't know what Hanna was talking about, but the whispering made it seem like it was probably something their moms shouldn't hear.

"If you're brave and don't cry," Hanna explained, "you get to pick a prize from the prize bin."

Emily nodded, she knew _that_. She was always brave, and she always got a prize. The snap bracelets were her favorite, the hardest part was picking which one she liked the most.

"Well if you cry a little and then stop, you get _two_ prizes," Hanna continued, "I bet if I cry when they take these teeths out I can get three whole prizes."

"But the prizes are for being brave!" Emily protested. Was Hanna suggesting that she should fake cry to get more prizes? She sat up straighter in her seat, tugging at her yellow polo dress. The idea of fake crying to get more prizes had her bristled.

Hanna rolled her eyes,

"If you cry and then stop then you is brave," she said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "because you was scared and now you aren't no more."

Emily wasn't convinced, but before she could argue the point further she was distracted by a woman in pink scrubs arriving in the doorway that led back to the dentist's chairs.

"Hanna Marin?" The woman called.

"Bye!" Hanna said to Emily, practically jumping out of her seat. She bounded over and grabbed the woman's hand, though it hadn't been offered.

Hanna's mother rose to go with her, but Hanna just looked over her shoulder at her and waved her away,

"It's okay Mommy, I don't need you."

A few of the adults in the room chuckled as Hanna's mother sighed and took her seat again.

"Well aren't you brave!" The woman in scrubs said to Hanna as she began to lead her away. Hanna gave her a big smile in return.

"Oh my…"

Then Hanna was gone, and all Emily could do was try to focus her attention on the Lego wall she had been building. She meticulously sorted the blocks, picking out as many blue ones as she could. The red kept making her think about the blood all over Hanna's face.

But her mind wandered to thoughts of what the dentist was going to do for her cavity. She had seen on TV dentists with huge whirring drills, or pliers as big as her arm.

Hanna had said that cavities weren't so bad, but what did she know? Her two front teeth had been jammed up into her gums and she didn't seem to care at all. She had even dismissed her mother from coming to hold her hand!

Emily resisted the urge to go climb into her own mother's lap. That wasn't what brave girls did.

And she didn't care what Hanna said, prizes were for being brave, not for crying. She wasn't going to cry.

But not long after Hanna had been led away, Emily heard a blood curdling shriek come from down the hallway. She froze, dropping the lego brick in her hand as Hanna's mother stood from her seat, already at the doorway by the time another woman in scrubs came to retrieve her. In her haste, she left her purse behind.

Frozen in her seat, Emily listened to the continued sound of shrieking and wailing so loud that it echoed into the waiting room.

Most of the adults busied themselves with magazines or cellphones, but Emily's mother called her over. Emily happily ran to her, climbing into her mother's lap and resting her head against her chest.

"Yours won't be that bad," Emily's mother promised, sensing her daughter's anxiety, "that poor girl had to have her teeth pulled and get stitches in her mouth. The dentist is just going to put some gooey stuff in your tooth to close the cavity up."

Emily relaxed a little, that definitely didn't sound as bad. Still, she couldn't help the heavy feeling in her chest that didn't go away until Hanna's screams finally faded.

In the back of her mind she wondered if they had been for real, or for prizes.

A few minutes after Hanna's wailing ended, her mother returned to the waiting room with Hanna balanced in her arms. The little girl's head was resting on her mother's shoulder, her mouth hanging open to reveal a wad of gauze taped where her front teeth used to be. Emily had a feeling they weren't there anymore.

Sniffling through the last of her tears, Hanna caught Emily's eye. As her mother retrieved her purse and began to carry her away, Hanna gave Emily a wink, and a small wave goodbye.

On her arm were two snap bracelets, and on her fingers were _three_ rings.

 _Five prizes?_

"Emily Fields?"

Now the woman in scrubs was looking for her. Emily swallowed the lump in her throat as she climbed off of her mother's lap and turned to stop her from rising out of her seat,

"It's okay Mommy, I can go alone."

Emily's mother looked shocked,

"Are you sure sweetie?"

"I'm sure," Emily nodded. She took a deep breath and crossed the room, taking the woman's outstretched hand.

A cavity was basically nothing, she could get through it.

After all, she was brave…

But maybe they didn't need to know that until _after_ she got her prizes.

 **A/N: I know everyone has been waiting for little Aria I'm sorry ! Also it's been ages since I updated, but this was actually one of two original ideas that sparked this story to begin with, so I wanted to get it out there. The other was a young Team Sparia, so if you're kind enough to review and stick around I might be able to pull that one together too**


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